1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control for updating firmware of an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the recent image forming apparatus, a firmware update system that can automatically update firmware by delivering the firmware from a distribution server to the image forming apparatus has been realized in order to save costs for updating the firmware.
Even in the case of the system that can automatically update the firmware, manual updating performed by a serviceman is sometimes desired, for example, in a case where an operation of newly installed firmware is unstable.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2009-140432 proposes a system capable of switching an updating method of the firmware between an automatic updating and a manual updating. More specifically, at a side delivering the firmware, a user selects how to upload the firmware, i.e., whether the updating of the firmware is to be performed automatically or manually, via a user interface. At a side receiving the firmware, updating of the firmware is performed according to the selection, thereby realizing the switching of the updating of the firmware between the automatic updating and the manual updating.
In the system capable of manually applying the firmware after the delivery of the firmware as proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2009-140432, if a problem is found in the delivered firmware, there is such a problem that updating of the firmware including the problem cannot be limited.
In a case where there is a plurality of image forming apparatus 107 in which the delivered firmware having the problem remains, there is such a problem that the firmware with the problem cannot be deleted at once.